Force redistribution in clathrin-mediated endocytosis revealed by coiled-coil force sensors

Abstract

Forces are central to countless cellular processes, yet in vivo force measurement at the molecular scale remains difficult if not impossible. During clathrin-mediated endocytosis, forces produced by the actin cytoskeleton are transmitted to the plasma membrane by a multi-protein coat for membrane deformation. However, the magnitudes of these forces remain unknown. Here, we present new in vivo force sensors that induces protein condensation under force. We measured the forces on the fission yeast HIP1R homologue End4p, a protein that links the membrane to the actin cytoskeleton. End4p is under [~]19 pN force near the actin cytoskeleton, [~] 11 pN near the clathrin lattice, and [~]9 pN near the plasma membrane. Our results demonstrate that forces are collected and redistributed across the endocytic machinery. One-Sentence SummaryNew in vivo coiled-coil force sensors reveal force redistribution during endocytosis.